The play begins with Ruby, a veterinary technician, and Officer Traiger, a low-ranking police officer, in the moments after a suicide on the train tracks. As they wait for Ruby to give her eyewitness account, a conversation ensues between the two of them that reveals their respective relationships with death, and which ultimately entangles their trajectories. Exotic Animals is about how we cope when unexpected tragedy enters into our lives, and how such an event can expose certain and surprising truths about who we are.

About the Saturday Series

Every Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM (except for holiday weekends), Chicago Dramatists hosts a Saturday Series event in our theatre. Most Saturday Series events are public readings of plays-in-progress.

All plays read in the Saturday Series are directed, rehearsed, and presented with minimal staging. After each reading, the audience members are invited to fill out written response sheets and to join in a moderated post-reading discussion.